Terrible colour match

[S.Speed]

Hi All..
I went to the trouble of going to my local (ish) MB dealership to order the correct touch up paint for my car.. The guy even came outside and made the note of the paint code..
So I decided to sort out some of the minore stone chips..
I am actually quite appalled at how bad a colour match the official MB paint is..
My cat is the metallic Maroon (not sure of the official title) and the touch up paint is several shades darker than the original.. I think if I got it from Halfords or any other car accessory shop it would have been no worse..
Whats the point of going to the trouble of supplying the colour code and ordering the paint if it then turns out to be such a crappy match..

Anyone else experienced this and if so whats the solution..

 

[racall]

paint

I had a spray can mixed up in my local helfords amber red metalic and was supprised it was a good match.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Two possibles here.
You're paint has faded slightly due to the sun (always worse with red paint) or your paint requires a laquer finish (it's surprising how much the laquer effects the overall colour).

 

[stats007]

A third possibility - your car has been resprayed at some point.

 

[Micman]

My cat is the metallic Maroon

Not heard of that breed before :lol::lol::lol:

 

[S.Speed]

Car is a 2003 C270 CDI with 38000 miles (When I bought it) and one owner.
I had MB fit reverse parking sensors and they managed to colour code them perfectly...
The colour... I remember now is called Titanite Red..

 

[television]

As your car is metalic, it will look too dark if you just paint it in to the stone chip. What you do is to drop it into the hole from the end of the brush and leave it to dry (say 2 hours at 20c) the paint will have shrunk leaving the repaired hole under filled. With Tcut go over the hole and remove the paint from the undamaged paint. (it will rub off like butter and no pressure needed) this will leave a darker shade of paint below the original surface. Apply the paint again and after a few seconds wipe you finger over the paint and smudge it,(this depends on the out side air temp) this will correct the colour and bring out the metalic effect. Leave it for several hours in the sun, then Tcut off again, and if you do it right you will not see it.

Do not use any top clear coat, as it will go dark, just polish the area with polish

 

[turbopete]

this is a new one on me! ive always found merc genuine touch ups to be a fantastic match!

 

[grahamcol]

My C280 is Titanite red and I've found the Halfords touch up kit to be a good match

 

[turbopete]

last one i bought was cheaper from MB than halfords too!

 

[television]

This is all down to metalic flakes being hidden,,wiping it within a few seconds with you finger brings out the correct colour, not so bad on dark cars, but stands out on silver and reds. There is no difference between Halfords and the MB kits,only the price

 

[S.Speed]

Once again, thanks to everyone for the advice..
I shall try as Malcome suggested tomorrow evening.. I have bought some ultra fine artisit brushes but I have left them at work..
I find the brush in the touch up pot way too large for stone chips..

 

[television]

You are much better off in shaking the pot well and using a tooth pick and just drop the paint into the chip, you must let it form a blob over the hole, sure it will look big but this paint is 80% thinners, in the sun it will shrink down leaving a tiny ring on the existing paint, this will rub off with ease, leaving the paint in the bottom of the hole, then do the last coat, smudge it within a couple of second (not in the sun) or it will dry too quickly, leave it in the sun now, and in a few hours rub over again with tcut very lightly

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

Not heard of that breed before :lol::lol::lol:

HE HE MUST BE A NEW MODEL OF JAG.
SORRY:Oops: